2017. The Year Android and Mac Malware Broke Big?

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The vast majority of malware targets Windows. This was true in 2016. It’s true in 2017. And it’s likely to be true for the foreseeable future.

But the times, they are a changing — especially when it comes to threats targeting Google Android and Apple Macs.

The rise of malware threats facing Android and Mac’s OSX is, in a way, a compliment. Android is now the most popular operating system in the world, after climbing above Windows’ user share earlier this year. And though OSX is only the fourth most popular OS in the world, and only about half as popular Apple’s own mobile iOS platform, it is the system of choice for many professionals — who tend to be high-value targets for online criminals and spies.

Here are 6 things you need to know about the rise in Android and Mac malware.

1. More Mac malware was detected in Q2 2017 than in all of 2016. And more new Mac malware families have been discovered in 2017 than any other year.

2. Most new Mac malware is spyware, and more than one-third of this new malware was discovered in targeted attacks against companies and governments, F-Secure Labs has found.

3. We also saw the first ransomware-as-a-service for Macs in 2017, meaning online criminals with minimal skills can now deploy attacks that demand payment in return from files taken from Macs.

4. Before 2017, Android malware already made up 99 percent of all mobile threats, but in this year, just between January and August, it increased by another 70 percent, F-Secure Labs found.

5. Ransomware for Android has also grown over 250% within the first three months of 2017 alone.